Chapter 2907

The mountains on the Yan family’s side still held plenty of medicinal herbs, though Seven-Leaf One-Flower was scarce. After a whole morning of searching, they had only gathered three seedlings.

Even so, Yan Xiwan was very happy.

"Guai Guai, take a rest," Yan Tieniu said, checking the time.

"Okay." Yan Xiwan agreed and sat down to rest beside her father.

Yan Tieniu handed her a white flour steamed bun.

The Yan family had plenty of fine grains these days. Most family members ate fine grains for dinner, and as the only girl in four generations of the Yan family, Yan Xiwan ate fine grains for every meal at home.

Actually, they had more fine grains than coarse ones, but coarse grains were consumed faster. They often traded some fine grains for coarse ones to avoid suspicion. If people found out they always ate fine grains, it would look bad.

People in this era were quite alert and cautious.

Yan Xiwan happily ate her white flour bun, sipping water between bites. She felt very happy and hummed a nursery rhyme softly.

Seeing her daughter so happy, Yan Tieniu smiled. "So happy?"

"Yes. Eating buns every day, how could I not be happy?" Yan Xiwan answered with a smile.

Yan Tieniu rubbed his daughter’s head, his eyes full of warmth.

Just then, Yan Xiwan smelled a faint scent of blood from the east.

"Dad, I smell blood," Yan Xiwan pointed in a direction. "Over there."

Yan Tieniu was stunned. "I’ll go check." she knew her daughter had keen senses since childhood, a fact Old Zhang had discovered. Old Zhang occasionally taught her some mystical arts, though she never took her as a formal disciple.

Old Zhang believed that while her skills were valuable, it was safer not to reveal them openly in these times. she didn’t take disciples, fearing that if things went wrong, the lineage would end with her. No one expected her to teach Yan Xiwan without making her a disciple.

"I’ll go too," Yan Xiwan said.

Yan Tieniu thought about it. Leaving her daughter alone here worried her, so she picked her up and carried her over.

Knowing the terrain well, Yan Tieniu moved quickly. Guided by Yan Xiwan, they soon reached a spot.

Yan Tieniu found a man in dark green clothes lying on a slope.

Yan Tieniu was not inexperienced. Seeing the clothes, he knew this man was likely a professional researcher from a higher institution.

Such people were treasures anywhere.

Seeing him injured here, Yan Tieu knew he had to help.

"Guai Guai, look. Is his injury dangerous?" Yan Tieniu only wanted to know if they could save him.

Yan Xiwan didn’t know why her father asked, but she checked carefully. "she can be saved. But she has internal injuries. Master needs to treat her. I can only handle the external wounds for now."

"Then bandage him first, and we’ll take him home," Yan Tieniu said.

"Okay." She trusted her father, so she nodded.

Fortunately, the mountain had rich herbs. They found some Panax notoginseng nearby. After stopping the bleeding and bandaging the wounds, Yan Tieniu carried the man home.

Wang Suyu was startled to see Yan Tieniu return in such a mess, fearing something bad had happened. But after hearing it was just a rescue, she relaxed.

They couldn’t find Old Yuan during the day. At night, when everyone was resting, Yan Tieniu went to fetch him.

After examining the man, Old Yuan said, "This man is lucky to meet you two. Otherwise, he might have died in the mountains."

"Uncle Yuan, judging by his clothes, he’s likely a specific researcher. I don’t know why he’s here. But I think his colleagues are nearby. Even if we didn’t save him, he might not have died."

Yan Tieniu didn’t consider saving him a huge merit.

Old Yuan patted Yan Tieniu’s shoulder. "You saw he was special, yet you didn’t claim the credit. That’s very Yan family of you."

"Of course."

Yan Tieniu never thought his actions were anything extraordinary.

Cheng Junnan woke up in an unfamiliar place. He looked around. It looked old but was very clean.

"Brother, you’re awake," Yan Tieniu said with a smile as he entered.

Seeing the honest-looking man, Cheng Junnan knew this family had saved him.

"Did you save me, brother?" Cheng Junnan asked.

"Not really. I was taking my daughter to find plant seeds. She found you, so I carried you here. I didn’t cure you; an old Chinese doctor here did." Yan Tieniu said cheerfully.

"Thank you for saving my life," Cheng Junnan said sincerely.

"Don’t thank me. Just looking at your clothes, I know you’re a professional. If you died, we’d lose a talent. So I saved you. If you died by accident, I couldn’t help it."

Yan Tieniu was honest. This honesty made Cheng Junnan like him even more.

"My name is Cheng Junnan. I came here for a secret mission. I finished it, but spies found me and chased me. If not for you, I would have died." Cheng Junnan didn’t reveal important details but shared what he could.

Yan Tieniu smiled. "I’m Yan Tieniu. This is Yan Family Village, under Sibi City, a small village in a small city."

Just then, a little girl entered with a bowl. "Dad, the medicine is ready. You’re silly. You were supposed to check on Uncle, but you started chatting."

The child speaking like an adult made Cheng Junnan’s eyes flash. She looked familiar.

She remembered Yan Tieniu mentioning finding seeds with her daughter. This must be the precocious little girl.

"Hello, little girl. I’m Cheng Junnan." Cheng Junnan had met many geniuses. He never ignored someone because of their age or gender.

Yan Xiwan smiled at Cheng Junnan. "Hello, Uncle Cheng. I’m Yan Xiwan. My nickname is Guai Guai. I’m Dad’s daughter."

Yan Tieniu took the medicine from Yan Xiwan and helped Cheng Junnan sit up. "Come, Brother Junnan, drink the medicine first."

Cheng Junnan didn’t hesitate. Healing his body was his priority.

She drank the medicine in one go.

Yan Xiwan said, "Master said he’ll come tonight to change Uncle Cheng’s dressing. Dad, remember to watch out."

"Okay, Dad knows," Yan Tieniu replied.

Yan Xiwan added, "I won’t disturb your talk. I’m going to read." Then she left.

Cheng Junnan smiled. "Brother Yan, you’re so lucky to have such a cute little cotton-padded jacket."

"Brother Cheng, you’re right. The happiest thing in my life is having this little cotton-padded jacket. You don’t know, Guai Guai is the only girl in four generations of our Yan family. Isn’t that luck?"

Whenever it came to his daughter, Yan Tieniu was very proud.

Cheng Junnan was surprised but understood. With only one girl in four generations, of course, they cherished her.

"Hearing you say that reminds me of my family. My Cheng family hasn’t had a girl in three generations," Cheng Junnan sighed. "No wonder my dad said whoever has a girl first gets his military medal."

"Haha, so Brother Cheng, you don’t have a daughter? Lucky me, I have one," Yan Tieniu said.

Cheng Junnan looked at Yan Tieniu. "Brother Yan, your Guai Guai is great. How about making her my goddaughter? My son can be your godson."

"If you want my Guai Guai as a goddaughter, she must agree. As for your son, forget it. I already have three bald-headed boys." Yan Tieu was one of those who disliked sons.

Cheng Junnan learned Yan Tieniu had three sons. That was one more than him.

"Brother Yan, you’re so lucky. You have both sons and daughters," Cheng Junnan envied him.

Yan Tieniu was proud. "Brother, not just you. My eldest, second, third, and fourth brothers all envy me."

Seeing his proud look, Cheng Junnan felt like punching him to relieve his frustration.

But he was still injured and had no strength.

At night, Old Yuan came. Cheng Junnan learned Old Yuan was one of the people sent down. He sighed. "The world will slowly correct itself, but for now, some talented people have to suffer."

Old Yuan laughed. "As long as you don’t mind I’m a Chinese doctor, there’s no problem."

"How could I?" Cheng Junnan said directly. "By the way, I heard there’s a business in Jiangnan called Yuan Guneng. Is that you?"

Old Yuan raised an eyebrow. "I didn’t expect anyone to know me."

"You really are Old Yuan. Old Yuan, you don’t know, our institute’s president has been looking for you," Cheng Junnan said.

"Why look for me? To fight me or suppress me?" Old Yuan asked calmly.

"Neither. The president’s father is ill. Old Zhou recommended you. He said if you were here, the illness wouldn’t be a problem," Cheng Junnan answered simply.